“I’m not gonna bother you”: Eli Manning was not interested in mentoring Daniel Jones after he was drafted by the Giants
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Eli Manning and Daniel Jones
Eli Manning is one of the most iconic players for the New York Giants. He has led the team that is infamous for its lackluster performances to the playoffs on multiple occasions. With two Super Bowl victories and two Super Bowl MVPs, he gave Giants fans a lot of reasons to rejoice and celebrate over. However, as he got up there in age, he could no longer do the things that he was accustomed to doing, Eli was not able to play at a high level anymore as injuries had gotten the best of him.
The quarterback was a major cause for concern and in his last season, he had to be replaced by rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. This ended his time with the Giants and closed the curtains on his NFL career. Being such a legendary player and watching a rookie with no credentials replace you must be a hard sight to see. Eli Manning revealed how he felt when Daniel replaced him as the starter on Cam Newton’s podcast.
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“That’s just life sometimes”: Eli Manning on Daniel Jones replacing him
Eli spoke on how he dealt with the Giants when they drafted Daniel, he knew that the team was trying to build on the future and he had next. “I think having dealt with having an older brother (Peyton Manning) and kind of following in that footsteps, and just understanding what got me to this situation and what made have success early on was, ‘I was gonna work hard, I was gonna be committed, and do everything possible I could to go out there and have success.’ If it didn’t work then that’s just life sometimes,” Eli stated. He only cared about things that were under his control and since he was accustomed to being overlooked and was in situations that put him under immense pressure before, he was not sweating it.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t give it my all. I had no problem I knew that they drafted Daniel, I was going to work but I’m gonna treat him like I’ve treated every other QB that’s been in that room and we’re gonna talk football and I like doing that. I’m gonna give the opportunity to start, I know I got to make something happen in these first games, if we don’t then it’s just the way it is. I worked hard, I prepared, and I did what I wanted to do,” Manning said mentioning that he never thought too much about the results but he just put in the work and did his job. He understood that Daniel was there as he was the future and by treating him respectfully and being there for him, Eli would be helping the team as opposed to being rude and creating a scene in the locker room.
“I told him, ‘I’m not gonna make this awkward,’ in the quarterback room. ‘We got another 4 months, we’re gonna be hanging out every single day with each other. That’s not fair to you, that’s not fair to me, that’s not fair to coach (Don) Shula.’ I can handle it, I’m a big boy, and if you need anything (I’m here). I’m still friendly with Daniel, I saw him yesterday. I tell him every time, ‘I’m not gonna bother you, I’m not gonna be the guy texting you or giving you advice but if you need ANYTHING, I’m here for you.” Eli Manning concluded.
The duo appears to now be very close, Eli has told Daniel that he is available for him if he needs to talk about anything. Though Eli has a very introverted personality, he has always been a team player. Due to this character of his, no teammate has ever complained about his personality or stated that he had an ego complex.
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Sumedh Joshi
(2314 Articles Published)